L18 Flashcards
(19 cards)
Political Anthropology
- What is political anthropolgy?
- Institutions/Organisations:
- International Governance:
Political Anthropology
What is political anthropolgy?
- Rules
- Social control
- Specific Institutions/Organisations
Institutions/Organisations:
- Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State
International Governance:
- Conflict & Conflict Resolution
Social Control
Using social sanctions:
Social Control
Using social sanctions:
- Sanction: a reaction within society and its members to behaviour
- Can be positive or negative?
Social Sanction Examples?
Social Sanction Examples?
- Shaming
- Threatening
Rules, Power & Society
What is Power, persuasion & social control present in?
Rules, Power & Society
What is Power, persuasion & social control present in?
- Present in almost every behaviour or action
Political Anthropology: Definitions
PAS
Political Anthropology: Definitions
1) Political institutions are distinct from other aspects of society, for instance parliament
2) Authority is channeled through specific political roles such as chief, president, prime minister
3) Scale of political integration is important
- Size measured by population & territory
- Band, Tribe, Chiefdom & State
Political Structures?
Political Structures?
- Band societies
- Tribal societies
- Chiefdoms
- States
Politics & Economics Gatherer-Hunter or Forager:
Give examples:
Politics & Economics Gatherer-Hunter or Forager:
- Live in small, nomadic bands or tribes
- No farming/livestock, but well-balanced diet
Examples:
- Northwest Coast Native Americans
- Khoisan
- ‘Foager’ as ‘Gatherer-Hunter’ on way to tribe (evolutionism)
- Sahlins
Subsistence: Horticulture:
Subsistence: Horticulture:
Domestication of crops with hands & hand held tools only
- Extensive agriculture, slash & burn agriculture
- Also led to sedentism
Subsistence: Pastoralism:
Subsistence: Pastoralism:
- Raising of livestock/cattle
- Nomadic pastralists do little or no horticulture
Subsistence: Intensive Agriculture
Intensive production of food with more than just manual labour:
Contributes to?
Subsistence: Intensive Agriculture
Intensive production of food with more than just manual labour:
- Use of irrigation, plows, drafts, animals, fertiliser
- Results in surpluses
Contributes to:
- The rise of the first cities
Subsistence: Industrialism
Subsistence: Industrialism
- Uses heavy industry & machines as major parts of subsistance
- Has existed only for approximately 200 years
- Dominant in contemporary world
- Postindustrial society?
- Computers, IT, artificial intelligence, Biotech
Band Societies
The basic unit found in:
No what?
Limited concept of?
Little? Highly?
No what?
Band Societies
The basic unit found in:
- Many hunting & gathering or gathering & hunting
- Kinship & no permanent political structure
Limited concepts of:
- Individual property ownership with high value given to sharing, cooperation & reciprocity
Little:
- role specialisation
Highly:
- Egalitarian
No permanent leader
Tribal Societies
Found:
Tend:
Leadership is:
Tribal Societies
Found:
-Most often among food producers
Tend:
- to have populations that are larger, denser, and somewhat more sedentary than bands
Leadership is:
- informal & not vested in centralised authority
Leader (‘Big Man’) holds prestige, not authority
Political leaders: no formal offices:
Leader (‘Big Man’) holds prestige, not authority
Political leaders: no formal offices:
- Leadership is based on influence, not authority
- Influence
- Authority
Chiefdoms
Chiefdoms:
- Centralised Power
Centralised Societies: The State:
Centralised Societies: The State:
- Strong, centralised political system
- Claims authority to maintain social order by force
- Only the state maintains the exclusive right to use force & physical coercion
- Reasonably clear borders & hierarchies
State Formation: Why establish states?
State Formation: Why establish states?
1) Larger scale organisation
- Population Pressure
- Resources (food)
- Security (war)
2) ‘Voluntaristic” theories of state formation
3) People relinquished autonomy more or less willingly because of benefits of scale
Hydraulic Theory of State:
Hydraulic Theory of State:
- Farmers with irrigation systems saw benefits of joining together & becoming part of a larger political entity
Coercive Theory of State Formation
- Elites needed revenue & labour to carry out wars:
Coercive Theory of State Formation
Elites needed revenue & labour to carry out war:
- State came into existance as a direct result of warefare
- Not all anthropologists agree with this
